Next on Copper Robot: Robert Charles Wilson, author of the novel "Julian Comstock: A Story of 22d Century America"

Coming up next, the author of one of my all-time favorite novels, science-fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson, who'll talk about his latest novel, Julian Comstock: A Story of 22d Century America.

I'm reading Julian Comstock now, and it does a great job at one of my favorite things that science fiction books do: Letting you inhabit another world for a little while. In the case of Julian Comstock, the world is America, 175 or so years into the future. Forget about your flying cars and orbiting hotels -- this is a world where fossil fuels ran out, the population has collapsed, and America in the late 22d Century looks a lot like America in the early 19th, with animal muscle once again the primary source of power, the United States fighting wars on the North American continent, and ruled by a Christian theocracy, the Dominion.

One thing I'm enjoying very much about the book is that, despite the way I describe it, it's not a rant. Despite all its problems, Julian Comstock's America is in many ways a nice place to live, and the characters enjoy life.

At least for now. I'm just starting the book.

I mentioned that Wilson is the author of one of my all-time favorite novels. It's Spin, which starts with three teen-agers laying on the grass on a warm summer night in the present day. As they stare up in the sky, the stars disappear. Spin tells the story of why the stars went away, what happens to the world because of it, and follows those three children as they grow up and grow old and their lives take very different paths.

I hope to see you next week for our interview. It's 6 pm Pacific Time/Second Life Time Sunday, June 28. As always, you have several options for joining us.

You can join the live audience at the Seaside Theater on World2Worlds Island in Second Life.

Watch the live video on the Web.

Or wait until afterward, when we'll have an edited audio podcast available -- look for it here or subscribe with iTunes or your favorite alternate podcasting software.

blog comments powered by Disqus